Today's NYT Spelling Bee uses center letter E with outer letters B, I, K, L, O, X. The puzzle contains 23 words worth 90 points, including 1 pangram. The longest word is 7 letters. To reach Genius you need 63 points; Queen Bee requires all 90 points. Today is not a bingo — at least one letter starts no words. Compared with the eight-year average of about 184 points per puzzle, this is a smaller-than-average day.

Game Summary

Table of Contents

As you scroll down this page, the clues get progressively more revealing. So scroll slowly!

1. Spelling Bee Grid
2. Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints
3. Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints
4. Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing) 🤯
5. Today's Complete Solution
6. Answer Definitions

If you're just here for a list of NYT Spelling Bee answers, Jump down to the answers ↓ (Spoiler Alert!).

Spelling Bee Grid

The following table shows the standard Spelling Bee summary grid, which lists word lengths across the top and letters down the left-hand side. The cell where the word lengths and letters intersect displays the number of words in today's puzzle with the corresponding first letter and word length.

Two-Letter List (2LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding two letters.

Three-Letter List (3LL) Hints

The following list shows the number of solution words that begin with the corresponding three letters.

Extra Letter Hints (Incrementally Revealing)

The table below lists all of the solutions to today's puzzle, but they're concealed. You can click the plus button (+) to reveal additional letters, one-by-one.

Concealed definitions are provided as additional clues. You can toggle concealment of the definitions by clicking on the concealer bar or the text that appears when the definition is visible.

Pangrams are marked with a dagger symbol (^†).

Today's Complete Solution

The words that follow are a complete listing of all acceptable words in today's New York Time Spelling Bee puzzle.

Next to the answer word you'll see the two-letter reference (2L Ref) in parentheses. We added that 2L Ref for easier translation of the spoiler-avoidant language you see on the Spelling Bee Forum and Twitter. The 2L Ref signifies a word's two start letters followed by the total number of letters in the word.

• boxlike^†  (BO7)
• belie  (BE5)
• bell  (BE4)
• belle  (BE5)
• bible  (BI5)
• bike  (BI4)
• bile  (BI4)
• bloke  (BL5)
• bobble  (BO6)
• bookie  (BO6)
• exile  (EX5)
• ibex  (IB4)
• keel  (KE4)
• kibble  (KI6)
• leek  (LE4)
• libel  (LI5)
• libelee  (LI7)
• like  (LI4)
• lobe  (LO4)
• oboe  (OB4)
• oleo  (OL4)
• ollie  (OL5)
• oxlike  (OX6)

Answer Definitions

• boxlike^† (adjective): similar to a box
• belie (verb): To lie around; encompass.
• bell (noun): A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when struck.
• belle (noun): An attractive woman.
• bible (noun): Alternative letter-case form of Bible (“a specific version, edition, translation, or copy of the Christian religious text”)
• bike (noun): Clipping of bicycle.
• bile (noun): A bitter brownish-yellow or greenish-yellow secretion produced by the liver, stored in the gall bladder, and discharged into the duodenum where it aids the process of digestion.
• bloke (noun): An exemplar of a certain masculine, independent male archetype.
• bobble (noun): A furry ball attached on top of a hat.
• bookie (noun): A bookmaker, being a person who, or business which, takes bets from the general public on sporting events and similar.
• exile (noun): The state of being banished from one's home or country.
• ibex (noun): A type of wild mountain goat of the genus Capra, such as the species Capra ibex.
• keel (noun): A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
• kibble (verb): To grind coarsely.
• leek (noun): The vegetable Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.
• libel (noun): A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation.
• libelee (noun): The party against which a libel (hostile handbill) has been filed by a libelant.
• like (verb): To enjoy, be pleased by; favor; be in favor of.
• lobe (noun): Any projection or division, especially one of a somewhat rounded form.
• oboe (noun): A soprano and melody wind instrument in the modern orchestra and wind ensemble. It is a smaller instrument and generally made of grenadilla wood. It is a member of the double reed family.
• oleo (noun): A type of energy-absorbing landing gear strut in which sudden compression or extension of the strut causes a gas-filled chamber to push or pull a piston which forces oil through a small orifice, resulting in absorption of energy through viscous effects.
• ollie (noun): An aerial maneuver in which one catches air by leaping off the ground with the skateboard and into the air.
• oxlike (adjective): Resembling or characteristic of an ox: strong, foolish, etc.